ABSTRACT
Democratic Spain has in the last two decades experienced a dramatic transformation in terms of economic, political and social modernization. The changes in its foreign policy have been astonishing, in a process that ranks the democratization and Europeanization of the country alongside the country’s interests, identity and policies. The main argument of this chapter is that EU membership has been the main determining factor explaining changes in Spanish foreign policy (Torreblanca 2001; Barbé 2007). Accession, in 1986, was a turning point for Spain in international terms. It has been said that EU membership operated as a catalyst that has turned Spain into a quite prestigious middle power (Kennedy 2000: 125).
